Friday Finals: Americans continue hot streak
Alexandria forward Justin Wasvick had a hat-trick in an 8-1 win on Friday as the Blizzard won their third straight game.
Helena 2 @ Great Falls 3: Will Simpson had an impressive performance in net for the Americans, keeping out 40 of 42 shots faced and helping Great Falls edge past the Bighorns. Helena took the first lead of the contest thanks to a 1st period goal from Samuel Feamster. The Americans answered with three consecutive goals, Jackson Henningsgard, Blake Nerney, and Micah Serino being the goalscorers. Taber Gutschick added a goal with the extra man late in the 3rd to make things interesting but Great Falls held on. On the other side of the ice, Gabe Swanson was dealtt the loss making 26 saves.
Alexandria 8 @ Minnesota 1: Justin Wasvick scored a hat trick for Alexandria in their 8-1 takedown over the Loons. Kyle Mischke scored the lone goal in the 1st period to give Alexandria the lead after 20 minutes. Matt McIntyre, Colby Nickel, and Wasvick helped extend the lead with 2nd period goals. Wasvick scored two more and Cole Klingbell added another to put the final touches on the win. Minnesota’s lone goal was scored by Jackson Melanson, his first of the season. Joey Greilich stopped the remaining 29 shots in Alexandria’s net while Matthew Ryynanen saved 57 shots in the loss.
Oklahoma City 6 @ Mid Cities 2: Ice Hawks skaters Richard Indermill and Garrett Conner both found the back of the net twice to give Oklahoma City the edge over the Jr. Stars. Conner opened the scoring in the 1st period giving the Ice Hawks an early lead. The visitors scored four more goals consecutively coming from Indermill, Conner, Noah Henslee, and Grant Hanifen. Ilnur Madiarov scored his 22nd of the year to break Mid Cities’ drought in the 3rd. Indermill found his second of the night to retake the five-goal lead. Grayden Grassi scored his 1st of the season for the Jr. Stars for the final goal in the contest. Nathan Hadley secured the win between the pipes with 28 saves while Quillon Bowman kept out 35 in the loss.
Milwaukee 1 @ Rochester 5: Rochester held the Power to just one goal in their to take down Milwaukee on home ice and further their lead in the Central Division. Cole Gibson and Layten Liffrig both scored in the opening period for Rochester, Gibson’s tally coming just 32 seconds in. Lincoln Bielenberg-Howarth and Ben Oakland doubled the Grizzlies lead in the 2nd as they both lit the lamp. Max Erstad was able to break up the shutout 1:38 into the 3rd period, scoring his 12th of the season. Oakland added another midway through the 3rd to extend the lead and add another insurance goal. Zach Wiese nearly recorded the shutout, stopping all but one of 22 shots. Spencer Northway made 50 saves in Milwaukee’s blue paint.
TX RoadRunners 3 @ TX Brahmas 4: Trailing by a goal heading into the 3rd period, the Brahmas powered back to score two goals in the final frame and complete the comeback victory over the RoadRunners. Tim Marsico and Jack Herron each tickled the twine for the RoadRunners in the 1st, the visitors leading 2-0 after one period. Gion Coray and Jeremiah Snyder tied things up early in the 2nd with Brahmas goals but Jaron Ketterman brought back the RoadRunners lead only 22 seconds after Snyder tied it. Blake Rothstein lit the lamp 2:02 into the 3rd to even the slate again between the two teams and Joey Carallo’s goal just under five minutes later turned out to be the game winner. Dolan Gilbert made 39 saves in the victory. On the other end Hunter Hein kept out 21 shots of 25 for the RoadRunners.
Granite City 4 @ Willmar 3: Granite City’s win streak has reached 30 as they narrowly took down the WarHawks on the road Friday night. The win was largely due to a 1st period offensive onslaught as the Lumberjacks would score four opening period goals. Andrew Butler potted a pair and Nick Mountain and Wyatt Halvorson also found the back of the net. After a scoreless middle frame, Willmar kept things interesting with three consecutive goals. Collin Kerchoff, Elbridge Dekraii, and Tate Hammitt all buried one for Willmar but it would be too little too late. Quentin Sigurdson made 34 saves for the Lumberjacks while Will Kunka was dealt the loss keeping out 31.
Louisiana 7 @ Austin 0: Louisiana netminder Brandon Keeney kept out all 15 shots he faced to secure the shutout in the Drillers’ dominant win over Austin. The Louisiana offense was led by Mark Kurliandchyk who recorded a hat trick and a pair of assists in the victory. Josh Hrip recorded a goal and four assists and Mason Wilbur also found the back of the net and dished a pair of helpers. Other Drillers goals came from Daniel Ripstein and Ryan Long. Austin goaltender Sebastian Skarzenski made 27 saves in the loss.
Wausau 4 @ Oregon 3 (OT): Nolan Gifford scored 3:15 into the overtime period to give Wausau the first victory of the weekend series against Oregon. Tyler Steuck scored a pair of 1st period goals for Oregon but Gage Vierzba would keep the lead to one goal as he scored before the opening intermission for Wausau. In the 2nd, Bowen Arola found the back of the net to tie the game. Wausau captured the lead in the 3rd as Pavel Bakhtin tickled the twine but Oregon’s Dillon Schmidt would send the game to overtime with his 12th goal of the season. Mitch Miscevich was the winning netminder, making 35 saves in the contest. Anthony Adleman took the loss keeping out 32 shots.
Atlanta 1 @ El Paso 6: The Rhinos snagged their 5th consecutive victory Friday night with a win over the Capitals with much thanks to a two goal performance from Matthew Gross. Gross and Atlanta’s Nick Mumford kept the score even through the 1st period with goals. From then on, all offense came from El Paso as they would score five 2nd period goals. Gross scored his 2nd while Jaxon Penner, Riley Hunt-Bahn, Tristen Elmhurst, and Colin Clough also buried a goal. Peyton Brendel finished the night with 13 saves for the Rhinos while Paul Jarvis kept out 51 shots for the Capitals.
Gillette 6 @ Butte 4: The Wild recorded their 10th straight victory Friday night with six different skaters finding the back of the net. Caleb Sanborn and Zack Slinger both scored goals for the visitors in the 1st but Butte’s Nick Bradshaw held the lead at one with his 34th goal of the season. In the 2nd, Bradshaw added his 2nd of the game and Luke Schleusner followed him up to give the Cobras their first lead. Late in the middle frame, Alex Duchemin and Vance Kleinschmidt retook the lead for Gillette as they both lit the lamp. In the final frame, Tucker Lien and Sky Solig extended the lead and put the game out of reach with goals of their own. Fabian Vik tickled the twin for Butte midway through the 3rd but Jack Orchard was able to hold on for the Wild. Orchard made 46 saves in the victory while Dale Pfannenstein was dealt the loss with 66 stops.
Yellowstone 4 @ Sheridan 2: Yelllowstone forwards Jack Harris and Gustov Ostman each potted a pair of goals in their short-staffed victory over the Hawks. Ostman scored his 1st of the game in the opening period, Harris extended the lead with his 1st of the game midway through the 2nd. Colton Boyd helped Sheridan draw close with an early goal in the final frame but Harris would restore the lead to two with his 2nd of the game. Hawks forward Parker Norling once again drew the home squad closer with goal but Ostman’s tally 14:00 into the final period was enough to seal the victory. Edvin Falkenstrom made 28 saves in Yellowstone's net while Patric Loeffler took the loss stopping 40 of 44 shots faced.
